Officials overseeing public colleges and universities in Mississippi have settled on a search firm to help name a new president at Jackson State University.
The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) voted Thursday to select Washington, D.C.-based AGB Search to assist state officials in filling the vacancy. The move comes two weeks after the IHL announced that it was seeking outside help in the search.
“AGB Search presented a proposal that best matched the qualifications outlined in the formal request for proposals,” a release from the IHL reads.
Dr. Steven Cunningham, a graduate of Jackson State, is currently chairing the search committee to replace former Jackson State president Dr. Marcus Thompson, who resigned from his post amid litigation pending against him. Dr. Denise Jones Gregory, the university’s provost and vice president of academic affairs, has taken Thompson’s former office in the interim.
“The work of selecting a university president is not easy,” IHL board president Gee Ogletree said. “The search committee must walk a very fine line, respecting the need for transparency and input from stakeholders, while also respecting the need for confidentiality related to those individuals who are being recruited and interviewed.
“The students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters of Jackson State University deserve our very best efforts in this process, and those efforts will ultimately result in a dynamic leader who will help Jackson State realize its greatest potential.”
No further details have been made available regarding the JSU president search.
